Elliot was asleep when they arrived at the hospital. The room was quiet, and Olivia instantly thought back to the night before, waiting for him to wake up, and wondering if he was going to. Now she was sure he would, but it was still hard watching him. She could admit to herself that while she wanted him awake, she was also afraid of how he would act this time. It hurt more than she could ever have imagined to see him go from the man she'd always known to a complete stranger and the pain she saw on his face as he struggled to remember bits and pieces of his past was heartbreaking. She couldn't help but wonder why they had to face so many setbacks, but then she pushed that out of her mind. Elliot was alive, and that was all that mattered. She could have lost him, but she hadn't. She would focus on that.

"He's asleep," Richard said, looking at his father and wishing he could see his eyes open. "I thought they said he woke up?"

"He doesn't stay awake for long," Olivia told him. "It's hard for him…and the pain is so bad." She sat down slowly in the chair by his bed, resting her hand on her stomach. "He'll wake up again in a while."

The nurse came in, checking the monitors and smiled at them, "You decided to bring company with you?" she asked Olivia.

"Richard really wants to be here the next time Elliot wakes up," she explained.

The nurse nodded, "He was very agitated when he woke up and you were gone. He'll be glad you're back…if he gets upset when he wakes up, stay calm and be firm with him. Buzz for me when he's awake, okay?" Olivia nodded and the nurse left.

Richard looked at Olivia and sighed, "How long do they think it will take for him to get back to normal?" he asked nervously.

Olivia shrugged, "I don't know. He may never be exactly the same…but he will get better."

"Is he going to be violent…for the rest of his life?" Richard asked. "I don't want him hurting you…or the kids…"

"He won't," Olivia promised. "Dickie…it really wasn't his fault. He has so much pressure and swelling in his brain…he can't control his actions right now. I was just taken off guard…now that I know what to expect, I won't let that happen again. You don't have to worry."

Richard nodded, then he sat on the floor next to the chair and Olivia let it recline back, raising her feet up and hoping it would help the muscles in her back relax. Richard was engrossed in something on his phone and she was bored watching Elliot sleep, so she pulled the baby name book out of her bag and mentally went over each name again. Richard looked up at her and smiled, "You haven't chosen her name yet?" he asked.

She shook her head, "It's not that easy," she sighed. "She'll have to live with this name for the rest of her life. I don't want to pick something that people will tease her about…or that doesn't suit her."

"You're talking to the guy whose parents named him Dickie," Richard cringed. "I'll never forgive them for that."

Olivia smiled, "That name meant a lot to your dad."

"Yeah…but the guy he named me after turned out to be a rapist and a murderer," he shook his head in defeat. "And even then he couldn't just call me Richard. No one can…not even you. I'm gonna be Dickie until I'm 90…" he gave a mischievous smile, "Do me a favor? Don't let Dad choose the baby's name. Pick something you like and stick with it…otherwise she'll end up with some ridiculous name that she'll hate for the rest of her life. And I really don't want to have to introduce my baby sister as Ethel or Agatha or Hazel…whatever old lady name he would pick."

Olivia laughed, "None of those are on his list," she rubbed her hand carefully over her stomach. "But I don't necessarily dislike them. They sound classic…"

"Oh God…not you too," Richard shook his head, reaching up and grabbing the book from her. "Let me see." He looked through the pages, "What about Madison?" he asked.

Olivia shook her head, "That feels too common to me. I want her name to be special."

"Maisey," he suggested. "That's a little different."

"I don't know…" Olivia didn't want to hurt his feelings, but she didn't really like that name either.

"Madeline? Mia? Montgomery?" he read through the list.

"Are you stuck on the letter M?" Olivia asked teasingly.

"You were on the M's when I took the book," he reminded her. He sighed, "Maybe you should just call her Baby Girl Stabler until she's old enough to pick her own name…at least then she'll have a name she likes and won't be stuck with something as embarrassing as Dickie."

Olivia took the book back from him, glancing through the pages once more. As much as she'd always wanted a baby, she'd never been one of those women who had her children's names picked out from the time she was in junior high…in all honesty she'd never really thought she'd have the opportunity to name a child of her own. Even Noah had been named by his birth mother…and while she loved his name and it suited him perfectly, she wondered if she would have chosen it for him. Naming a child was a bigger responsibility than she could have imagined and she didn't want to mess it up. Twenty years from now she didn't want her daughter complaining to someone that she'd saddled her with a name others made fun of on a daily basis…no wonder Dickie was determined to be called Richard.

"Olivia…" Elliot's voice broke the silence and she turned quickly to look at him, smiling gently. "Liv…" he whispered again and she stood up, standing beside him.

"I'm here…" she said softly. "I'm sorry I was gone last time you woke up."

"I want to go home…" he said.

"You can't go home," she reminded him. "You have to get better first. The doctors and nurses are taking good care of you."

"No…" he argued. "They keep hurting me…I want to go home." He pulled at the IV in his arm and she grabbed his hand, squeezing it tight.

"Stop it," she said firmly, trying to remain as calm as she could. "You're going to hurt yourself."

"I want to go home…" he said again, but he seemed to settle down.

"El…when you get better, you can come home," she squeezed his hand and stroked his cheek with her finger. "We have to get you better first." She pushed the buzzer for the nurse and looked at Richard, standing by the chair. "Dickie came to see you," she said softly, motioning for him to come toward the bed.

As much as he'd wanted to see his father, to be there to protect Olivia from his angry outbursts, in that moment Richard felt like a frightened child, unsure if he could be strong enough. He walked slowly to the bed and looked at his father, grateful to see his eyes open for the first time in days, but he didn't know what to do or say, so his just stared.

"Dickie…" Elliot's voice trailed off and he seemed to drift off as his eyes fluttered from open to closed and then opened again.

"I'm here Dad," Richard whispered. "I'm glad you're feeling better…that you're awake."

The nurse walked in, smiling, "Good to see you awake again," she said to Elliot as she checked his vitals once more. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine," Elliot insisted. "I want to go home."

"We're going to be running some tests tomorrow," the nurse told them. "So the doctor can check the swelling on your brain and look at brain and motor function. That'll give us some more answers so we know how to proceed. Hang in there…"

"See," Olivia smiled, "They are trying to help you…not hurt you. You'll be home before you know it. Just try to relax up here so you can heal."

"I'll be back to check on things in a while, but call me if you need me," the nurse said softly as she walked toward the door.

"I will, but I think we're good," Olivia nodded. She watched the nurse leave and then turned back to Elliot, "How's your head feeling?"

"I don't know…" he exhaled sharply. "I feel sick…"

"Should I call for the nurse?" she asked, unsure what to do if he started to throw up.

"No…" he insisted, looking at her intently, "Did you change your clothes?" he asked and she wasn't sure if he was changing the subject on purpose or if his mind had just wandered in that direction. It was impossible to tell.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I went home and took a shower…changed into my own clothes instead of wearing your Marine Corps shirt."

"Liv…I don't remember…" he sputtered and couldn't seem to finish the thought.

"What?" she asked. "What don't you remember?"

"The baby…" he said, noticing the way the fabric of her t-shirt pulled over the swell of her stomach. "I don't remember when you're going to have the baby…I want to be there to help you…I don't want to be here…"

Olivia smiled, "It's okay…we've got time." She took his hand, placing it on her stomach, "I'm only 23 weeks…she's gonna wait for her daddy to get better before she comes." The baby chose that moment to wake up and flutter around and Olivia moved his hand to the spot where the baby was kicking, pushing his hand carefully into her side, "Do you feel that?" she asked. "I think she's missed hearing your voice."

"That day…" he said, his voice weak. "You wanted me to feel her kick…but I didn't." he sighed, "I'm sorry…"

"It's okay," Olivia said softly. "It wasn't your fault. She wasn't strong enough then…but she is now. You can feel her now, right?"

"I can feel her," he said. "Liv…I don't want to hurt you…I don't want you to be scared. Are you scared?"

"You would never hurt me," she said gently. "And I'm not scared. I'm gonna take care of you and then when you get better, we're gonna go home and have this baby and everything will be fine. I promise…"

"Dad," Richard's voice shook as he interrupted their conversation. "Maureen and Liz and I…we're gonna help Olivia until you get better. Don't worry…"

"Dickie…" Elliot said softly. "I love you."

"I love you too, Dad," he cried and leaned over, carefully hugging him.